The subject invention relates to a damaged light bulb base extractor and, in particular, to an improved damaged light bulb base extractor for engaging and gripping a base of a damaged light bulb so that the base can be easily, quickly and safely unthreaded from a light socket.
Numerous tools have been developed in the past for removing the bases of damaged light bulbs from light bulb sockets. The following patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,516,650 (the xe2x80x9c650 patentxe2x80x9d); 5,371,658 (the xe2x80x9c658 patentxe2x80x9d); and 5,458,029 (the xe2x80x9c029 patentxe2x80x9d), disclose various expandable tools for extracting the bases of damaged light bulbs. The expandable tool of the 650 patent has a gripping member with a threaded, slotted, end portion 24 made up of a plurality of segments 22 and an operating member 14 with a conical end portion 32. When the conical end portion 32 of the operating member 14 is drawn down into the tool, the conical end portion 32 engages the insides of and expands the segments 22 of the slotted end portion 24 to grip the interior surface of a light bulb base. The slotted end portion 24 of the gripping member 12 is recessed at 62 to receive lamp components, e.g. lamp filaments. The 658 patent and the 029 patent disclose extractor tools wherein first and second handle members (handle members 11 and 12 of the 658 patent and handle members 14 and 16 of the 029 patent) are squeezed together to spread apart prongs (prongs 13 and 14 of the 658 patent and prongs 18 and 20 of the 029 patent) that grip the interior surface of a light bulb base. In FIGS. 7 and 8 of the 658 patent a transparent semi-spherical bowl 32 is provide to catch debris from a light bulb.
The following patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,117,017 (the xe2x80x9c017 patent); 4,485,701 (the xe2x80x9c701 patent); 5,103,695 (the xe2x80x9c695 patentxe2x80x9d); 5,490,438 (the xe2x80x9c438 patentxe2x80x9d); 5,829,324 (the xe2x80x9c324 patentxe2x80x9d); and 6,260,442 (the xe2x80x9c442 patentxe2x80x9d), disclose various additional extractor tools for removing the bases of damaged light bulbs. These extractor tools are equipped with base-engaging members or end portions made of resilient rubber materials. The base-engaging members or end portions of these tools are inserted or forced into the base portion of a damaged lamp and, due to the resilient nature of the base-engaging members or end portions, these base-engaging members or end portions grip the interior of the lamp base portions so that the base portions can be unthreaded from a light socket. Except for the extractor tool of the 324 patent, these tools have a hollow core for receiving the filament of a damaged light bulb. The extractor tools of the 438 patent and the 324 patent are provided with shields or collars to catch debris from damaged light bulbs and it appears that handles of various lengths can be used with most of these tools to enable the operator to reach the light sockets.
While the above tools may be used to remove the bases of damaged light bulbs from light sockets, the damaged light bulb extractor of the subject invention provides an improved easy to use and inexpensive tool for removing the bases of damaged light bulbs from light sockets. The damaged light bulb extractor of the subject invention may be used to extract or remove the bases of damaged light bulbs of various types and sizes from light sockets. For example, the damaged light bulb extractor of the subject invention may be used to remove the bases of damaged industrial light bulbs, commercial light bulbs, street light bulbs, common household light bulbs, etc. from light sockets.
The damaged light bulb base extractor of the subject invention includes an expandable base-engaging member that can be easily inserted into the base of a broken light bulb and expanded to grip the interior sidewall surface of the light bulb base so that the light bulb base can be rapidly unthreaded and extracted from a light socket. In one embodiment of the subject invention, the expandable base-engaging member of the damaged light bulb base extractor is a generally cylindrical member made of a resilient material. The expandable base-engaging member is mounted on one end of a handle member and is sandwiched between first and second compression plates. The first compression plate is located on the end of the handle member at a first end of the expandable base-engaging member and the second compression plate is located at a second end of the expandable base-engaging member. The second compression plate is drawn toward the first compression plate at the end of the handle member to compress the expandable base-engaging member axially and expand the expandable base-engaging member diametrically to engage the interior sidewall of a light bulb base and grip the base for extraction from a light socket. The second compression plate is moved away from the first compression plate to permit the expandable base-engaging member to return to its initial unexpanded state for removal from a light bulb base after the base has been extracted from a light socket. In one preferred form of this embodiment, the expandable base-engaging member is a generally cylindrical, tubular member and the first and second compression plates are moved axially relative to each other by a threaded drive rod that passes from the handle into the threaded end of a tubular connecting rod that passes through the expandable base-engaging member and is integral with or affixed to the second compression plate. The threaded tubular rod forms a hollow axially extending core in the expandable base-engaging member to accept any portion of a light bulb filament and support structure remaining attached to the base of the damaged light bulb.
In use, the expandable base-engaging member is expanded to grip an interior sidewall surface of a damaged light bulb base by inserting the expandable base-engaging member into the base of a damage light bulb and effecting relative movement of the compression plates toward each other to compress the expandable base-engaging member axially and increase the outside diameter of the expandable base-engaging member. After the base of a damaged light bulb has been unthreaded and removed from a light socket, relative movement of the compression plates away from each other is effected to permit the resilient expandable base-engaging member to return to its initial outside diameter so that the expandable base-engaging member can be removed from the base of the damaged light bulb.
While the generally cylindrical external surface of the expandable base engaging sidewall may be smooth, the external sidewall surface of the expandable base-engaging member may includes a plurality of ribs that may be extended from first retracted positions to second extended positions. The ribs are maintained in the first retracted positions or are returned to the first retracted positions for insertion into or removal from a light bulb base by rotating the expandable base-engaging member in a clockwise direction relative to a light bulb base when inserting the expandable base-engaging member into or removing the expandable base-engaging member from a light bulb base. The ribs are extended from the first retracted positions to the second extended positions through a counterclockwise rotation of the expandable base-engaging member relative to a light bulb base while the expandable base-engaging member is inserted within a light bulb base to better grip the interior sidewall surface of a light bulb base for unthreading the light bulb base from a light bulb socket. While this structure and method of expanding the expandable base-engaging member may be used in conjunction with the axially compressible expandable base-engaging member described above, this structure for and method of expanding an expandable base-engaging member through the use of extendable ribs on the external sidewall surface of the expandable base-engaging member also can be used as a sole means of expanding the diameter of an expandable base-engaging member to grip a light bulb base for removal of the base from a light socket.
The handle of the damaged light bulb extractor may include an extension pole and a shield may be included to catch debris, e.g. broken glass, which may fall from a damaged light bulb base while it is being removed from a light bulb socket.